Ammo shortage is from panic buying, hoarding

Saturday

Jul 13, 2013 at 12:10 AM

Barry Fikes has seen ammunition shortages come and go over the years.“It’s never been like this,” said Fikes, secretary-treasurer of Tuscaloosa Gun Club. “We buy some ammo in lots because we can get it cheaper. I ordered some .22 ammo from the Civilian Marksmanship Program. That’s been on back order since December. They said a month or so back that the manufacturer has pushed the delivery date back to October.”

By Robert DeWittOutdoors Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Barry Fikes has seen ammunition shortages come and go over the years.“It’s never been like this,” said Fikes, secretary-treasurer of Tuscaloosa Gun Club. “We buy some ammo in lots because we can get it cheaper. I ordered some .22 ammo from the Civilian Marksmanship Program. That’s been on back order since December. They said a month or so back that the manufacturer has pushed the delivery date back to October.”Clay Simmons, owner of Simmons Sporting Goods in Bessemer, has never experienced anything like it. The shortage is most acute for .22 long rifle ammo.“There’s never been one close to this one,” Simmons said. “I’ve been doing this all my life and I’m 59 years old. We’ve seen some spikes over time, but it’s never been close to what it is this time.”Not only are supplies low but prices are high, too.“A brick (500 rounds) of .22 used to be pretty easy to find for $25,” Fikes said. “Now it costs $50 a box for that.”The cost of reloading components for bullets has also risen drastically, Fikes said.Panic buying began in December. The re-election of President Barack Obama, an advocate for stricter gun laws, coupled with the push for additional gun control laws following the Newtown, Conn., shootings sent gun owners on a buying spree that emptied store shelves. They haven’t been full since.Theories about the shortage abound. There are whispers of secret government programs buying up ammunition and keeping it from the public. But the real answer seems to be the public’s voracious appetite for ammunition.“It’s strictly supply and demand, and it shows you what panic in a market looks like,” wrote Alan Korwin on the AmmoLand.com website.Manufacturers say they’re churning out as much ammunition as they can possibly make.“On our end, nothing has changed as far as production,” said a woman in Winchester Ammunition’s marketing department who declined to give her name. “There is a shortage but we’re still producing as much as we can as fast as we can.”A CCI Ammunition employee who also would not give her name said the same.“We are making as much ammunition as we can,” she said. “We’re working 24/7. We’re making ammo like crazy and we’re definitely making .22 ammunition. Our trucks are shipping out every day.”Shortages have also occurred in the .17 hmr, .45 acp, .223 and 9 mm calibers, Simmons said.“We’re basically 75 percent out of everything we carry,” he said.Most people weren’t surprised when the shortage occurred. Fear of new gun control laws has led to panic buying before. There was also a shortage of military-style semi-automatic weapons and handguns early in the year.But the gun shortage ran its course in about the time expected. The ammunition shortage has lingered. The culprit seems to be nothing more than panic buying and hoarding.“I don’t know of anything else it could be,” Simmons said. “It’s been excessive, exaggerated type demand, almost panic buying.”Simmons said his business has bought more ammunition than before. But it has sold far more than normal. He would buy more if he could.“I haven’t been able to get what I’d like to,” he said. “It’s going out the door as fast as we can get it in.”Normally, demand for ammunition would be low at this time of the year. That would allow manufacturers to get ahead in preparation for hunting season and wholesalers and retailers would build a stockpile in anticipation of higher demand in fall and winter. But this year, it’s different.“The pipeline between the customer and the industry is empty,” Simmons said.Fikes thinks things are about to get better.“I think it will be over before long,” Fikes said. “I don’t think it will be over this weekend. But I think it would be fair to say that in late summer we’ll be seeing some relief.”Simmons sees some improvement as well. But he’s not as optimistic as Fikes.“It seems to be easing slightly,” Simmons said. “It’s not going to be where the consumer can walk in and see all the ammunition we usually carry for the rest of the year. Ammunition will be extremely tight all year.”

Reach Robert DeWitt at robert.dewitt@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0203.